


Blended

by adreamofadandelioninthespring



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Katniss and Peeta have a lot of kids, Mention of Minor Character Death, Parents Katniss Everdeen & Peeta Mellark, Step children, Unconventional Families, biological children, mention of minor character domestic violence, parenting, the new modern family, toastbabies - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 19:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20214928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adreamofadandelioninthespring/pseuds/adreamofadandelioninthespring
Summary: Our family is defined by love not blood.8 children and counting. A modern day take on the unconventional family makeup of the Mellark family. A family made up of step-kids, biological kids and adopted kids.





	Blended

**Author's Note:**

> This has been posted to Tumblr a few months ago. An Everlark birthday gift request of Everlark having a big family but loving every minute of it.

The school bell rings, and I hear the excitement of the kids in the back of the car.

“Who’s excited to see the big kids?”

There's a chorus of excitement and I smile. The little ones loved the big kids so much with their life revolving around them. They wanted to be like them, attending school, doing the same sports and activities and everything else.

I usually got to school early to get my park as close to the gate as possible. It saved me having to run in and collect the kids when I had five other kids sitting in the car. And five kids under 4 who all had a different idea on rules and direction.

I jump out of the car, opening the boot and stand beside the car waiting for them to appear.

Sadie is first, walking out with her friend.

“See you tomorrow, Freya.” She waves to her and Freya walks on down to a car parked down the street further.

"Hi, Sadie Lou." I take her bag, kissing the top of her head. “How was school?”

"Great! I had the fastest time in my times' tables."

“Really? That’s awesome! All that practice at the bakery, hey?" I nudge her with a grin.

She nods, smiling her gapped tooth smile. She’s always laughing and giggling and has something cheeky to say.

“Jump in.” I tell her.

Liam appears, a group of boys trailing behind him. They're the year above him, and I know they always give him grief and have something smart to say to him.

Liam steps to the side, to tie his shoelace up away from the car in hopes the boys will pass him.

"Oh, Mummy's boy chariot awaits." The middle one says.

“Mummy can’t have precious Liam walk too far in case something happens to him.”

“Yeah, like finding another stray kid to take home.” The middle one adds.

Liam keeps his head down, focuses on his shoelace and I step out from behind the van towards the path with my arms folded over my chest, resting on my belly.

“Afternoon boys.” I greet them.

They all go red, noticing me and I smirk at them. “Uh, we…”

"I heard everything." I tell them. "Don't worry." I assure them. "You better keep walking, or I might have to take you all home because I've mistaken you for, wait, what did you call them?" I ask them, and neither of them answers. "Strays? Is that right?" They all gulp. "I've actually been on the lookout for more kids so you three better not stray any longer or I’ll just have to take you home and adopt you all.” I tell them. “More the merrier, right?”

Their eyes go wide, and they pick up their pace, to continue walking. I watch them walk on, keeping my stance until they've crossed the road and disappeared.

Liam stands up and keeps his head ducked as he throws his bag into the back and tries to move away from me.

"Hey, Bud." I smile at him. "Are you going to look at me?"

He keeps his eyes down, trying to cover his eyes with his mop of raven hair and makes a beeline for the car, jumping in the front seat and burrowing down to keep out of eyesight. He ignores the little ones and I know the longer he ignores them, the more upset they're going to get, and I'll have tantrums to deal with. 

The last wave of kids leaves the school grounds, and I try to spot Mila amongst the crowd. 

“Have you seen your sister?” I ask Liam and Sadie.

“Nope.” Sadie answers.

"Liam?" He ignores me, and I try not to take it personally.

And just before I decide to head into the school to find Sadie, she comes from another direction, rushing towards me. She has an art file in hand, and her blonde braids lap in the wind as she runs.

She trips over her laces, landing on her knees and grazing both knees pretty badly. She’s clumsy when it comes to day-to-day activities, managing to trip over her own feet and is never without a bruises or scrap.

“Mila, what did I say about running?” I scold her, helping her up.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to hold you up.” She tells me, tears welling in her green eyes.

“Darling, I know to expect you well after the bell.” I smile at her. “Come on, I’ve got to get Sadie to Dad.” I wipe the tears from her cheeks and take her art file.

She throws her bag into the back, and I find some tissues and tell her to press them to her knees, and I'll get some Band-Aids for her knees when we drop Sadie off.

Liam sulks in the seat beside me, and the girls talk to the younger ones telling them about their day.

Today was a quiet afternoon with only Sadie having an after-school activity, heading off to dancing. Peeta would run her to and from, and I'd get a start on homework and dinner. 

Peeta patches Mila's knees up for me quickly, and he kisses all 8 kids on the forehead. Even getting to plant a kiss on Liam's head.

“I’ll see you in an hour.” He tells me, kissing me goodbye.

I wave goodbye to Sadie and head on home. The little ones have been restrained in their car seats for nearly an hour with not a lot of movement and I know they’re close to their breaking point. They’re so patient, I have to give them that.

"Cohen, don't kick Levi." Mila scolds the 3-year-old. I look in the rearview mirror, seeing Cohen kicking his twin brother who sits right beside him.

“Cohen!” I scold him.

He doesn't listen, and I watch as the hand goes backwards and hits his thigh.

“Cohen, that is not nice!” Mila tells him as Levi bursts into tears, trying to comfort Levi.

He giggles and I scold him again.

“You don’t want to go to timeout do you?” I ask him. “No Pepper when we get home.”

He starts his outburst, crying over the thought of missing Pepper Pig. I made sure the little ones didn't watch TV during the day and saved it instead for the afternoon when we were home, and I needed 20 minutes to supervise homework, start dinner and spend time with the older kids.

Every afternoon was different and depending on the day and who would be home. Friday's we never got home until late and we made it our takeaway night. Every other day, Peeta or I could manage to run around after usually two or three of them and the other would return home and start on dinner and baths. Peeta volunteered to do the running around, especially as my pregnancy progressed further and I usually was exhausted come 3pm.

“I want my Pepper!” He hiccups as he cries. I wince at the ear-piercing scream and can feel an early headache coming along.

“Well, you better apologise to Levi then.” Mila tells him.

He hiccups and sobs before apologising to his brother. All is good in the world for now all thanks to bloody Pepper Pig.

I make a mental note that Peeta is going to have to separate them, maybe putting Archer between them or with one of the girls and spacing them out.

I'm glad to see our driveway and reverse into the drive. The van was too big for the garage, and our garage was filled with kid things, so it lived on the driveway. Mila helps unbuckle the five younger ones and carries little Layla out for me. I supervise the walk into the house through the garage and carry Sadie and Mila's school bags in before locking up the car and closing the garage door.

“No, Archer, shoes in your basket.” Liam grunts at him.

I hear shoes hitting the floorboards and the sound of little toddler feet running up and down the house. Liam picks up the shoes, throwing them in the basket before he follows his brother into the house.

“Do you need me to round them up?” Mila asks me as she sets Layla down. The toddler scurries off after the rest of the kids.

“No, it’s fine.” I assure her with a soft smile. “You get started on your homework.” I tell her and head into the kitchen.

And one by one, little heads peek over the bench at me.

Archer then Levi and Cohen followed by Ivy and little Layla.

“Snacks?” I ask them with a grin.

They all nod and I smile at them. I hand the little ones each the bowls of their cut up fruit and they take their seats at their wooden table to eat. They know the rules and routine, snacks in the kitchen before cartoons are watched. I hand them each their bottles of water and unpack the lunchboxes. Packing containers into the dishwasher, emptying drink bottles and wiping out lunchboxes to set aside and ready for Peeta to pack tonight. I get the dishwasher on so we can have it empty for dinner plates to go straight in.

It was a whole lot of extra thinking and organizing but it seemed to work and we were a well-oiled machine most days.

“Finished!” Archer calls out with the rest of them echoing.

I examine their bowls, see that the boys have polished their fruit off while the girls are not as interested and send them off to the playroom. I set up Pepper Pig on the screen, and I go and find the older two. Liam is still outside with the dogs and Mila has set up in the kitchen to do her homework.

"Mum, what do you think of this as a project idea?" She asks, and I come and stand next to her.

She had a project to submit that was a free project. Something that interests them to complete and share with the class. It could be a research assignment, a science experiment or diorama. Mila had been thinking long and hard on what to do, rebuffing ideas we threw her way and telling us she wanted to do something that meant something to her. So we let her go, do her own thinking and she's obviously gotten an idea.

I come and stand over her shoulder and see her project planned out.

_My family doesn’t look like yours._

"The kids in my class don't really understand the makeup of our family, and I want to bring to their attention that blended families are normal and not all tension and fighting. I just want them to understand that my siblings are a combination of step, half and adopted. That we don't all share the same blood, but that we love each other dearly." She tells me.

"Did you really want the kids to know what happened to your mum?" I ask her, placing my hand on her shoulder and squeezing it gently. It was still a sore spot, and I was concerned it'd bring about a lot of sadness and grief.

"A lot of the kids in my class have been talking about it, and I just want to set them straight. They're saying a lot of mean things and twisting the truth." She admits to me.

"Only you know the truth, and that's what matters, sweetie." I remind her, kissing the top of her head.

"I know that I just want to be above it all, ahead of them and put most of the facts forward." She tells me. "And if it gets too hard to speak of, I'll just leave it out."

She was so much like her father that I was constantly doing double takes. “Ok.” I smile at her. “Did you need my help with anything?”

“Can you write down everyone’s birthdates, including yours and dads?”

“Of course.” I find a notepad, scribble down the birthdates of all the kids and Peeta’s and mine before handing it back to her.

“Do you think I should create a family tree?”

“You could or what about a slideshow? Have a slide with each of us all and a brief bio and explanation.” I suggest.

“Good idea.” She smiles. “Can I use the laptop?”

I nod, taking my laptop from the charger and setting it before her, logging in. “When is this due?”

“Two weeks.”

“And has Liam started?” I ask her. The two ended up in the same class, the top class. Liam was science and maths focused where Mila was all-creative. She excelled at art, English, music and French.

“I don’t think so.” She tells me. “I think he’s struggling a bit with the year 6 kids.”

“Is he?” She nods. “I saw them picking on him this afternoon. I’ll have a chat with him or get Dad too.” I tell her. “Has he said what’s bothering him?”

"I think it's a bit of everything. A build-up of stuff."

"Ok." I tell her. "Thanks for looking out for him. I don't mean to neglect you three, but the little ones do take up a lot of my time and attention."

"We know that Mum. We love you and what you do for us." She squeezes my hand. "And that's what an early bedtime is for. They go to bed, and that gives you and dad time to spend with us."

“We’ve been a little slack on that time though with you three.” I frown slightly.

"We know, but the business stuff has taken priority because of the time of year. We know that. We're happy to help."

She was too mature for her age. "I know you are but leave the grown-up stuff to your dad and me." I remind her, brushing my thumb over her cheek and smiling at her. “You three focus on kid stuff and enjoy still being a kid.”

She nods, and I wink at her. She's set for now, and I go out to find Liam to have a chat with him. I've lined up another cartoon to start to give me a bit more time.

He’s running a soccer ball up and down the backyard with Inky the Border Collie chasing him backwards and forwards up the yard.

Inky never let up and was always go go go. Liam loved the energy of the dog and could spend hours running around with him. The only other person in the family that matched Inky’s energy was Cohen who always needed mental stimulation like Inky to tire him out or he’d get bored and into mischief.

The other four are doing their own thing. Slinky, the dachshund, has found a patch of sun to lay in. Ace, the beagle, is sound asleep on his back snoring loudly on the back steps. Abby, the golden retriever, is keeping watch from the back deck over the yard. And finally, Bear the Labrador has managed to make his way up the kid's playground equipment and is whimpering because he’s too scared to go down the slide.

“Bear you big goof.” I call out to him. “Come on, down the slide.”

He puts his paw down but it slips on the plastic, and he cowers backwards.

“I’ll get him down.” Liam tells me, kicking the ball down the yard for Inky to chase before he runs for the equipment. He climbs up onto the landing and gets himself seated on the slide and motions for Bear to follow.

Liam goes down the slide, Bear goes to follow him but cowers again, stepping backwards.

“I think he’s stuck, Mum.” Liam comments.

"We’re just going to have to push him down." I tell him. "I'll go behind him, and you grab his paws and pull him down."

We successfully manage to budge Bear, and he goes down the slide and slips and falls off the end. He jumps up, shakes his body and runs rings around Liam and me, showing off and begging for praise and pats for getting himself down.

"Oh, you're a duffer." I comment, rubbing his cheeks and cooing at him. "But you keep us entertained." I look up, catching Liam's weird look and I let Bear go. "Sorry, I shouldn't talk to him like a baby. Must just be getting ready for the new baby."

He gives me a slight shrug of his shoulders, and I motion for him to follow me to the steps. We take turns throwing the ball for the dogs, Inky usually beating them every time. Bear usually wins the ball by bowling them all over. Slinky comes and lays over my lap, and Ace begs for belly rubs.

“I wanted to have a chat with you, bud.”

“I’m fine, Mum.”

"I know you say you are, but I don't believe you." I tell him. "You've just been really down lately, and I feel like it's something I've done."

“It’s not you.”

“Then what is it? Is it the kids at school, those boys I saw this afternoon?” He doesn’t answer. “Are you embarrassed by me? By our family?” I ask him. I knew there’d come a time where it’d get confusing and too much but I never expected it to get to the point of being teased and bullied.

“The kids at school have been saying mean stuff mostly about Mila and Sadie at school. Their mother. And a lot about Sadie’s dad. They throw my name in there because they’re my sisters and make comments about our family and everything else. They think we’re freaks because of how big our family is.” He scowls.

“Who cares how big someone’s family is.” I tell him, squeezing his hand to urge him to look at me. “You are so lucky that you have four sisters and three brothers.”

“But they’re not all my biological siblings.”

"No, but what do we say in this family?"

“Our family is defined by love not blood.” He responds.

“With just the right amount of chaos and love.” I smile. “Look at it like this, at the end of the day, we have given Sadie, Levi, Cohen and Layla a home. Given them our open arms, a roof over their head and lots of love and support. Look how happy they are? I couldn't live with myself if they ended up living elsewhere. In the system. Split up or adopted out." I tell him. "Imagine if the twins and Layla went with their grandparents, they'd be living on the other side of the country, and you wouldn't get to see you, cousins, at all. How would you feel?"

“I’d miss them a lot.” He replies.

“So would I.” I add. “Aunt Prim made me promise that I’d take care of them and I couldn’t let her down because if the situation was reversed, I know she’d take you kids in without hesitation. We made a pact when you were born that if something happened to me, she’d take you in, no matter the situation and I promised her the same thing.”

“What about Sadie?”

"Sadie's story is a bit different, but if Sadie didn't come and live with us, then Mila wouldn't get to see her sister either. Sadie had no one else to go to. Mila was lucky because she had Dad, but because Sadie doesn't share the same father, there was no one else. We didn't want to split the girls up, and Peeta promised Leevy that he’d take care of them both if anything did happen. It seemed like the right thing to do.”

He nods. He knows his family is unconventional and has never questioned it, but I know he has questions and things that don't add up. Things are confusing for him for the 11 year old, and I knew we'd have to answer these questions one day. I'm just a little sad it's come to happen because of silly comments made at school.

"We love you all the same. I may not have given birth to them all, but my heart tells me otherwise." I tell him. "I'd have loved to grow up with a big family like ours."

“You would?”

I nod and smile at him. "I'd love to be the big sister and get to be the one all my siblings looked up too. To come home and have them fuss and fight over who got to cuddle me first, our silly little games we'd play and getting to watch them grow every day." I wrap my arm around his shoulder. "You're so lucky, those kids, especially the boys look up to you so much. Their eyes light up when you appear, they are always talking about you when they're home and what games they're going to play, what cool things they've created to show you and what story they want you to read to them. They love you so much, and it fills me with warmth at how beautiful the bond you boys all share."

He smiles, getting a little teary.

"You're they're big brother, and everyone needs a big brother to keep them safe and protect them from the world. You're their superhero, and you always will be." I kiss his forehead. "When I had you, I never thought I'd get the opportunity to give you a brother or sister. I thought it'd just be the two of us forever. Which hurt a little. I knew I was blessed to have you but I wanted more. It wasn't until Peeta and Mila came along that I knew our family wouldn't be conventional one bit, but I was so excited for the future and growing our family. I thought they'd be the kids I'd grow in my belly and deliver but we've had those four souls come into our lives. We’ve been blessed with them all and I realized that, blood doesn't make a family, love does." I whisper into his hair.

“I do love them all, Mum.”

“I know you do, matey.” I reply. “The universe has gifted us with them all for a reason. And just like what dad says, they’re the individual ingredients that make up our family cake. They’ve got their different traits and personalities that bind us together.”

“And our cake isn’t yet complete.” He adds, looking me in the eye as he touches my belly. I place my hand over his, right where the baby is kicking me and smile at my firstborn.

“Far from complete.”

I send him inside to start on his project. He has decided to do a science experiment and has a bit of research to do. I bring the dogs inside, and they split in different directions. The cartoons have nearly finished, and I know I'll have to go in and let them out of their pen and entertain them before feeding them again. 

I start on dinner. We learnt in the last 9 months when we went from four to seven kids that quick and easy meals were the go to. Peeta would treat us to a big baked dinner on a Sunday night, one he'd cook for hours and then treat us to dessert. Usually, in the summer it was something light and fresh and come the colder months he'd make puddings and crumbles, and we'd go to bed full and satisfied.

Tonight was crumbed chicken, always a hit in the house and I’d make extra chicken for the kids lunches the next day. The little kids got chicken nugget sized pieces for lunch, and they ate them like they were going out of fashion and didn't realise it was actually last nights dinner. It was all about being organised and thinking ahead. Especially when it came time to feeding 8 hungry tigers.

Peeta would be home soon, and he'd cook on the barbeque, and I'd finish up the salad and cook up some potatoes and sweet potato.

The little ones were a little fussy with what they ate, and I have to put their salads on their plates individually. Archer hated cucumber but loved his celery. Levi hated roast potatoes but loved mashed potatoes. Tonight he'd just get an extra side salad. Cohen hated tomatoes but loved his cucumber and always loved to have a slice of lemon with his chicken. Ivy wasn't too bad, ate nearly everything you put in front of her. Layla would eat what was off my plate. I always added her food to my plate, and she'd pick at it.

Peeta walks in the door with Sadie following behind and greets all the kids again, let’s the toddlers out of their pen with a kiss and hug before he comes and finds me. He kisses the two older kids and then me and asks how it’s been. He’ll talk to the baby, feeling for kicks and movements before he goes and changes his clothes and starts cooking.

Dinner and bath time is usually our most stressful. Especially wrangling five toddlers. We threw the five of them into the bath together. Peeta would bathe them, catching up on missed time, play with them and spend the time he craved. I'd collect bath towels, pyjamas, pull-ups and nappies. I’d get Layla’s bottle ready, turn down sheets and get the nightlights and diffusers on. The three boys shared a room together, and the two girls were in the room next door. Liam has scored his own room, and Sadie and Mila are still sharing. The baby would be shoved in with us with no space or room of their own.

“How did dancing go, Sadie Lou?” I ask her, chopping up salad ingredients.

“Good.” She smiles. “We started our first dance today.”

“Oh did you? What style?” I ask her.

“Contemporary.” She smiles excitedly. This was her favourite style.

“Oh very nice.” I wink at her. “Why don’t you start on your homework and I’ll help you with your spelling words if you want.”

She sits down beside her sister, and I take her spelling list and get her to spell the words from her homework sheet. She had been diagnosed with dyslexia and struggled quite a bit when it came to her spelling and reading, but she worked hard and never let anything get her down. We would play it by year if she needed extra help but her teachers were happy and so were we with her progress. She though excelled in problem solving and seeing the bigger picture.

I dish up salads as Peeta cooks and Sadie writes out words.

“Last word, insect.”

She writes out the words, I hand back her sheet for her to check her spelling and I give her a minute to figure out where she went wrong before I come and check and explain her mistakes. It's usually just muddling letters up or writing letters backwards. The words she makes mistakes on, we get her to write them out a few times and spell them out to us along with giving her the definition.

“Oh, you just muddled these two letters up.” I tell her, correcting it with a red pen. “And this one.” I make it seem positive. “But other than that, good job on your first day.”

She smiles, happy with her spelling and I leave her to do the rest of the activities. She asks Liam and Mila questions and for help, and they don't hesitate in helping her in between their own work.

“Dinners nearly ready. Pack up, we’ll come back to it after dinner if you haven’t finished.” I smile at them.

Mila goes and collects the kids, getting them to wash their hands, Liam sets the table and Sadie fills glasses up with water. Layla goes into her high chair. Ivy into her booster seat at the table. The three boys sit up at the table. And I dish them up their dinner. Peeta has one last round of chicken to cook, and I get the older ones dished up. They take their seats and Peeta comes back in with the last bit, we dish up our plates and take a seat with the kids. 

Peeta usually sits in between the twins to get them to eat. I sit next to Layla to get her to eat off my plate. Ivy eats her food up. The older kids talk about school. The little ones tell jokes and nonsense stories. It's loud and chaotic, but I don't want my dinners going any other way.

The boys take forever to eat, putting on shows and telling stories that have them all in a fit of laughter and Peeta getting them to eat more of their dinner.

“I want five more bites.” He’ll tell them all.

The older kids have carried their plates and scrapped and stacked them in the dishwasher in that time. I get them to bring me any notes and get ready for school tomorrow, if they need their news item or library books and then their sports gear. The girls had hockey training tomorrow afternoon, and Liam had guitar lessons. They line their afternoon activity bags in the crate by the garage door.

The kids manage the five bites, and Peeta gets them to eat more. They always return an empty plate, and I don't know how he does it. Usually his own stories distracting them enough so they eat.

"I'll get the bath running." I tell Peeta.

I fill the bath with some soap, ensure it's not too hot and help him strip down the five kids and get them in the tub, leaving him to supervise them.

The older three are allowed their downtime, choosing to watch a show, watch YouTube videos, draw, read a book or research. 

I gather everything, dumping clothes on the floors of the bedrooms and bringing the towels to the bathroom. I usually take the girls, leaving the boys to play a little longer. Ivy reads a book while I dry and dress Layla. By the time I get Ivy dressed, Layla is about to crack it, ready for her bottle and bed and I carry her to get her bottle and say goodnight to everyone. Ivy follows, kissing them goodnight before we head into the bedroom. I cuddle Layla on the rocking chair and Ivy usually sits on the floor or in her bed. Layla never makes it past the first page. Ivy last the book but is drowsy. I tuck them both into their beds. Kissing them goodnight.

Peeta has wrangled the boys into their pj’s, dried their hair and gotten them to brush their teeth and go to the toilet before he gets them in their beds. We read them a story together, watch them do their little stunt tricks to rid of that last bit of energy before we tuck them in and leave them to fall asleep, reminding them not to get out of bed and start playing.

But we know exactly what they'll start doing. Its part of the reason we installed a monitor so we could watch them and go and get them back to bed.

Usually, by the time we get them in bed the first time, the older ones slowly start to head for showers as Peeta starts on lunches and recess for tomorrow. When he finishes that we all sit down together and chat and watch a show together.

We watch the monitor and see Levi get out of bed first and going to Cohen. They get up on his mattress and jump. This gets Archer's attention, and he plays a game of jumping across the three beds.

“I’ve got it.” Peeta assures me.

This usually lasts half an hour before they crash. The two of us taking turns. In hindsight separate bedrooms would do us the world of good but we had no room for that until we started renovations, going up and adding in a few more rooms.

Peeta catches them, and they all rush to their beds. He tells them goodnight before he leaves the room, closing the door and walking back to the living room.

But we watch Archer rise out of bed and start his jumping game again. I go this time, scolding them back into their beds and then remind them that I don’t want to come back again.

I know I will have to, but I hope one day they'll listen.

Peeta goes back another time. Before I follow him, and then we go back together to put them into their beds after they've passed out on the floor, in the wrong bed or with their head at the foot of the bed.

We sit down exhausted on the couch with the three older ones, and I'm usually close to passing out.

But today's been an easy day compared to most.

We send Sadie to bed, and I go to tuck her in and have a chat with her.

“How was today?” I ask her.

“Today was good.” She smiles at me.

“Yeah? Tell me one good thing from your day?”

“Starting our new dance.” She tells me with a soft smile.

“And are you going to have good dreams tonight?”

“I always have good dreams, Mama Kat.” I always smile at her name for me. She affectionately started calling me that when we took the twins and Layla in. I reminded Sadie of a cat with a big little of kittens and she dubbed me Mama Kat.

"I'm glad you do." I smile at her.

“Goodnight my Sadie Lou.”

“Night. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” I remind her.

“I’ll always be thankful for you and Peeta.” She tells me with a smile.

“I’ll always be grateful for having you in my life. You’ve made it shine.” She smiles. “Night my girl.”

Mila and Liam get half an hour extra and Peeta, and I alternate whom we follow to say goodnight to. I tell Peeta to follow Liam, seeing if he'll open up a bit to him and I'll go and tuck Mila in. We usually have our girl chat out in the living room, so we don't disturb Sadie.

“Mum, I heard something today.”

“Yeah?”

“When will I get my period?”

I was hoping we'd have a little bit of time before the birds and the bee’s conversation. She's starting to develop, and I know it’s a matter of time.

"Well, you could get it anytime now. You've started to grow breasts, and your hormones are kicking in so really any day."

“Like tomorrow?”

“No. I doubt it. Maybe a few months down the track or longer. Everyone is different and matures at different rates.”

“How old were you?”

“15. I was the last girl in my year to get my period.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“How did you feel?”

“A little ashamed and embarrassed but my mum always told me, not to feel ashamed because we all grow at different rates, our bodies react differently and sometimes being a late bloomer isn’t a bad thing.”

“Will you still love me when I get my period?”

“Of course I will! I’ll never stop loving you.” I tell her. "I'll have a discussion with you tomorrow all about it if you like?" She nods, and I get her to head on to her room.

I follow her to her bedroom, tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. “I’m forever grateful for you Mila.”

“Thank you for choosing my dad and me.”

“Always.”

I kiss her forehead, pull the covers up higher and bid her a good night.

Peeta has a bit to do so I take the time to shower and head to bed. Abby follows me, curling up on the bed with me for our cuddles. The others are with Peeta, and once they go out one last time, Peeta will open the kid's doors and the dogs will go and find their spot for the night.

Abby doesn’t return, most likely heading to Ivy and Layla with Slinky and Peeta comes instead. He showers quickly before climbing into bed and kissing my temple.

He didn’t have an early start tomorrow and would drive the older three to school for me. I’d usually meet him at the bakery for us to do paperwork, ordering and pays. We’d sync his schedule with mine, along with the cake orders he has to make for the coming weekend.

We are a well-oiled machine.

He yawns, burying his head into my shoulder and rests his eyes.

“Gosh, I am exhausted.” He tells me.

“Tell me about it.”

He looks over my shoulder to see what I’m doing on the Ipad. “What are you doing?”

“Research.”

“On what?”

"Mila asked me when she'd get her period earlier. Thought I'd read up on it, what to tell her and if there's a book or video I can maybe show her."

“They’re growing up, aren’t they?” He frowns.

“Yep.” I feel my eyes water.

“Good thing we’ve still got years to go of all this parenting thing.” He smiles, resting his hand on my stomach. “Would you change it?”

“Never in a million years.” I tell him.

"Me too." He kisses me. "Do you think you could find some info for me, so I know what to expect and how to answer Mila's questions."

“Of course.”

“And how would you feel about me talking to Liam?”

“I think he’s gonna get embarrassed at whoever talks to him, but I think he'll appreciate it more coming from you." I tell him. “You know, man to man.”

Peeta chuckles, checking his phone before setting it down on the bedside table.

“Did he say anything to you?” I ask him.

“Not a lot. Just he’s sick of the kids at school saying things about Mila and Sadie.” He frowns.

“He loves them so much.” I tell Peeta.

“He takes after you, would go to the ends of the earth for his family.”

“I’m just scared that because he does take after me that he won’t use his fist before his brains.”

“Oh well, those kids are dicks and deserve a fist to the nose.” Peeta tells me, smirking.

“Those kids are dicks.” I agree, laughing. “And they’re too pretty for year 6 boys.”

“Yeah a crooked nose would go down great.”

“That it would.” I smile. “You know we’ll have to punish him if he does throw a punch?”

“I know.” He pats my hand. “We’ll deal with it if it happens.” He sighs. “I might have to teach him some wrestling moves.” He pins my wrists above my head and settles on my lap, careful to not crush my belly. He grins down at me.

“Hopefully not the ones you use to seduce your wife?” I bite my lip.

“No, those I save for only this bedroom.” He whispers. “And you.” He hovers above my mouth. His lips inches from mine.

“Take my pants off and seduce your horny wife.” I tell him. “But make it quick cause I won’t last long.”

He rolls off of me, falling onto his side and with uneven breaths we stare at each other. He brushes my hair behind my ear and presses a soft kiss to my forehead before he switches his light off and wraps me up in his arms. "Thank you for bringing me them all."

“Thank you for helping me.” I kiss his lips. “We make a good team.”

“I’d never be able to do it without you. Never in a million years.”

“Always.”


End file.
